1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image input/output apparatus such as a printer device and multi-function peripheral (MFP) which can output image data as a visible image, an information processing system equipped with the image input/output apparatus, and a data processing method for the information processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with increases in the use of networked environments, there have emerged network-ready printer devices and MFPs. At offices, in particular, environments in which multiple users share a plurality of MFPs have become common. In such environments the MFPs are often installed at a location away from the users. Consequently, it is conceivable that a job issued by a user is not executed or execution of a job is delayed due to mechanical trouble of a MFP or because a large number of jobs are input. If so, it is often the case that the user realizes that the job has not been executed yet only after finding at the installation location of the MFP that no printed material has been produced from the job issued by the user. This often puts the user under stress.
As a technique for solving this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-053130 describes a technique for acquiring job processing status and device status (normal/abnormal) remotely via a network.
Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-191043 proposes a technique for printing comfortably by transferring a job among a plurality of devices which is shared.
The above techniques have the following drawbacks. It is troublesome for the user to determine job status on a device located away from the user. Also, since job status changes constantly, it is difficult to keep track of the status if the user is away from a monitor.
When a plurality of devices is shared, it is desirable to transfer a job automatically or manually. In such a case, when the user wants to cancel the job, change a transfer destination of the job, or otherwise manipulate the job, the user has to know the whereabouts of the job before the user can take an action. For example, in FIG. 5, a PC (data processing apparatus) acting as client 1 exists on a LAN on which three devices—multi-function peripherals A to C—can be shared. In FIG. 5, client 1 issues a print job to multi-function peripheral A using PDL data. Next, in FIG. 6, the user learns that multi-function peripheral A which has been requested to execute a job of client 1 is down due to an out-of-toner condition, part failure, or the like. Consequently, the user requests multi-function peripheral A to transfer the job to multi-function peripheral B. In such a case, it is likely that jobs are piled up on multi-function peripheral A, waiting to be printed and that other jobs are also requested to be transferred to another multi-function peripheral. Thus, it is not certain when the job issued by the user of client PC 1 will be transferred from multi-function peripheral A to multi-function peripheral B. Consequently, when the user goes to multi-function peripheral B to pick up printed material, expecting that the job has been printed by multi-function peripheral B, it can happen that the job still remains on multi-function peripheral A, having not been transferred to multi-function peripheral B yet. In such a case, to cancel the job or to transfer the job from multi-function peripheral A to multi-function peripheral C instead of multi-function peripheral B, the user needs to return to multi-function peripheral A. However, if multi-function peripheral A and multi-function peripheral B are distant from each other, it is conceivable that job transfer from multi-function peripheral A to multi-function peripheral B has been completed when the user returns to the location of multi-function peripheral A. Thus, it is difficult to handle a job specified to be transferred.
The present invention solves the problems with the conventional techniques described above.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a technique which makes it possible to handle a job easily from any of image input/output apparatus of both transfer source and transfer destination.